Omnicomm monitors fuel consumption in Yamaha rally motorbikes

Omnicomm’s equipment monitors fuel consumption in Yamaha Factory Racing rally motorbikes<br />
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Omnicomm fuel monitoring system (FMS) has recently made a debut on the motorbikes. Yamaha Racing Factory assembled Omnicomm’s products fitting them inside the rally motorbikes Yamaha WR450F Rally. The equipment underwent the Dakar 2015 rally test in the beginning of January providing accurate fuel data for Yamaha racing motorbikes on all the routes of the marathon.<br />
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Preparing for the race it is indeed important for all the rally riders to calculate the precise required amount of fuel in the tank. During the race it is as vital to monitor fuel consumption to know its exact amount. As weight of the motorcycle is indeed a very crucial parameter for racers, it makes no sense taking fuel “in reserve”.  Since it was the first case concerning motorcycles, which are much smaller than trucks and vehicles, it was a challenge for Omnicomm’s products: “Omnicomm LLS has never been installed in motorbikes before. What the guys from Yamaha did with Omnicomm’s equipment is amazing! Yamaha Racing Factory is indeed creative not only in racing but technically. What’s more, we are happy our product works precisely no matter what – even in the bikes for which they were not designed initially”, - Stanislav Maksimov, Head of international sales, Omnicomm, shared.<br />
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Yamaha  Racing Factory had to think about additional monitoring solutions because of the specific constructions of the new lighter motorbike WR450F Rally. The earlier Yamaha bike models had fuel reservoirs made of transparent plastic and did not require obligatory fuel monitoring. On the old motorbikes the pilot checked the fuel level by looking at the transparent tank. It was dangerous, as the driver was not looking at the road, and it was not very accurate because the liquid fuel was on the move. The new motorbikes has only one light carbon fuel tank mounted underneath the rider’s seat and the level of fuel became totally invisible for the team. That raised the problem of precise fuel monitoring for Yamaha even more.<br />
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“With the new bikes this year we especially needed fuel monitoring equipment to provide accurate fuel data readings for the marathon riders. We saw Omnicomm’s equipment functioning successfully in KAMAZ-master racing trucks during the rallies in the harshest conditions. Omnicomm LLS gives highly accurate figures: the precision is 99.2 percent. That is a very good percentage of accuracy which satisfied our specific needs”, - Mr. Rodolphe Beau, Technical Manager, Yamaha commented.<br />
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Omnicomm’s fuel monitoring solutions had already been used in rallies before. But the joint project with Yamaha happened to be absolutely unique. Omnicomm’s equipment underwent serious modifications on installation stage. Yamaha Factory Racing, guided by Omnicomm technical support, adjusted the products to fit them inside the specific parts of their racing motorcycles.<br />
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“We faced some difficulties with sizes. The plate of Omnicomm LLS fuel level sensor was too small, so the original square plate was removed. We made a new plate on which the fuel level sensor is now used without any changes. We also needed a monitor to track to fuel left in the reservoir, so we adjusted Omnicomm LLD to the motorbike. There have been a lot of efforts but we were eager to work with Omnicomm to have high-precision reliable equipment for the team”, - Mr. Christian Caillon, Chief Engineer, Yamaha explained. <br />
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Following the test installations Omnicomm LLS fuel level sensors and Omnicomm LLD monitors were fitted in 5 Yamaha racing bikes. And in January 2015 the team tested the equipment during the Dakar marathon which took place in Latin America: “Careful measurement of fuel is very important for a racing team. Yamaha participates in various races around the world. We tested Omnicomm for 2 months, but the real test was Dakar 2015 where the bike riders are not only faced with all kinds of terrain, but also have to battle incredible temperatures”, - Mr. Rodolphe Beau added.

Enero 29, 2015